Over the course of a non-stop career spanning over 50 years, Cruz performed and recorded hundreds of songs on dozens of albums (I count 152, but that includes some compilations and minor appearances), is featured or is the subject of a couple dozen films and telenovelas (including a riveting biography series on Netflix. You’re welcome.), and while she was at it, she stole the hearts of so many. Over 200,000 people paid their respects while she lay in state at Miami’s Freedom Tower in 2003, with vigils held all over the world.

Cruz worked hard, y’all, and she did it with the utmost joy and love, pouring herself out for her fans. Check out this 2002 performance of a remix that won her a grammy for “best interpretation” (she is 76 here, and has a tumor in her brain, but there is simply no stopping her.)

Cruz recast’s Gloria Gaynor’s famous “you’re not welcome anymore,” heartbreak anthem as a song about resilience and joy in the face of trials. The struggle for freedom, the tears for the friends we leave behind, the perseverance and the love for our people that carries us forward. The ancient song, hands on drums and feet dancing, the blood of our villages that we carry across all borders and barriers, into spaces that do not always love us but where we must love in order to survive.

She sang about music, rhythm, and the voice of the song as “keys” for every generation, while also doing a bit of clever wordplay since the “clave” is also a musical instrument (which I think was mentioned at that content salon, right?), it’s called the clave because it lays down the fundamental 3-2 and 2-3 rhythm that is the key to all of this musica mestizaje, this mix of the African and the American diaspora, the winds of the Caribbean carrying that song to the northernmost Caribbean city: New Orleans, Louisiana, where it would give birth, first to Jazz and Blues, and as it moved north to Rock, Hip Hop, and all the other forms of music that give you life. Bobby Sanabria explains all this well, but I’m already straying a little to far from Celia…

With so much passion and history, how could you not rock that orange hair? Or any of the myriad outfits that were Cruz’s unapologetic signature. Here’s another great outfit, and another amazing song (my personal favorite):

This one is a little tougher for me to unpack, since I am still learning to use my anger and outrage sparingly. She decided long ago not to be ruled by her anger, but to give a dismissive “fwa!” to people that tried to drag her down in their negativity. It helps me to think of this advice not as blind optimism, but as separating those people who cause the trouble and hardship that we experience in life from the beautiful gift of life itself. This is essentially the same advice as “a life well lived is the sweetest revenge.”

Todo aquel que piense

All of those who think

que la vida es desigual

That life is unfair

tiene que saber que no es así

Have to know it is not so

que la vida es una hermosura

That life is such loveliness

hay que vivirla

They just have to live it

Todo aquel que piense

All of those who think

que está solo y que está mal

They are alone and are evil

tiene que saber que no es así

Have to know it is not so

que en la vida no hay nadie solo

That in life no one is alone

y siempre hay alguien

And you always have someone

Ay, no hay que llorar,

Ay! No need to cry

que la vida es un carnaval

That life is a carnival

y es más bello vivir cantando, oh, oh, oh,

It’s more beautiful to live singing

Todo aquel que piense

All of those who think

que la vida siempre es cruel

That life is always cruel

tiene que saber que no es así

Have to know it is not so

que tan solo hay momentos malos

That there are only bad moments

y todo pasa

And all shall pass

Todo aquel que piense

All of those who think

que esto nunca va a cambiar

That this is never going to change

tiene que saber que no es así

Have to know it is not so

que al mal tiempo, buena cara

That when times are bad, a smile

y todo cambia

Can change everything

Para aquellos que se quejan tanto (fwa!)

To those who complain so much (fwa!)

para aquellos que sólo critican (fwa!)

To those who only criticize (fwa!)

para aquellos que usan las armas (fwa!)

To those that use guns (fwa!)

para aquellos que nos contaminan (fwa!)

To those that contaminate us (fwa!)

para aquellos que hacen la guerra (fwa!)

To those that make war (fwa!)

para aquellos que viven pecando (fwa!)

To those that live in sin (fwa!)

para aquellos que nos maltratan (fwa!)

To those that mistreat us (fwa!)

para aquellos que nos contagian (fwa!)

To those that infect us (fwa!)

There is so much more Cruz to celebrate, but I won’t really do it justice, and you can go on your own journey of discovery: